


What now

by Stuckyalltheway



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Author Regrets Everything and Nothing, Awesome Natasha Romanov, Bruce needs a loooong nap, Bucky knows better, Bucky thinks they're all idiots, But he gets better?, De-aged Stevie, Don't expect too much from me, Ever - Freeform, I'm bound to disappoint, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Possibly Nat, Sam is pretty cool, Steve is a precious adorable little rebellious cinnamon bun??, The others think they have Steve all figured out, Tony is an ass, Tony stop bothering the Bucky, Very protective Bucky, and maybe Sam?, as usual, author doesn't know what she's doing, but I'm too tired to change anything so here you go, just a useless stream of conciousness, little Steve doesn't trust people, lol when is she not, only Bucky, these tags are a mess, uuuuummm, whaaaaaat is going on, ya know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-07-15 11:53:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7221322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stuckyalltheway/pseuds/Stuckyalltheway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Where is he?” The Soldier demanded, his metal fist slamming loudly against the sturdy glass separating them.<br/>“Upstairs. There was a - an incident” The doctor answered, hesitating slightly. “Something happened and I’m working on fixing it, but Steve - well, we’re rather desperate, hence me coming down to see you.” </p><p>Basically, Steve is de-aged and he only trusts Bucky and Bucky loves him and everyone is happy and nobody is sad. That's a lie. But it's okay I promise. Trust me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Second Try](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1560452) by [KeelieThompson1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeelieThompson1/pseuds/KeelieThompson1). 



The Soldier barely moved from his spot on the floor when he heard the door open, followed by the sound of footsteps nearing his cell, where he sat with his back to the wall.

He glanced up when he heard the tap on the glass, surprised to find Bruce Banner standing on the other side instead of Steve. Steve was usually the only one to come see him, always speaking in soft tones, his eyes earnest and hopeful.

The Soldier wanted to hate him, but found, to his immense frustration, that he was rather unable to feel such an emotion towards the man.

Something was wrong. Banner looked exhausted, his face was drawn and he looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. Steve hadn’t visited in days.

_Steve!_

Suddenly, The Soldier was pressed up against the glass, startling the doctor standing on the other side.

“Where is he?” The Soldier demanded, his metal fist slamming loudly against the sturdy glass separating them.  
“Upstairs. There was a - an incident” The doctor answered, hesitating slightly. “”Something happened and I’m working on fixing it, but Steve - well, we’re rather desperate, hence me coming down to see you.”

“What happened? Is he hurt?” The Soldier couldn’t explain the sudden panic and rage that was swelling up inside him. Like some base instinct coming back to life after years of sleep. “Protect Steve Rogers”. If there was one thing he knew for sure, it was that if Steve had been harmed, nothing would save them from his anger.

“No, he’s not hurt, he’s just - well, I think it’d be best to just show you. I’ll be right back.” The man answered, turning quickly and leaving the room in a hurry.


	2. Chapter 2

The Soldier only waited a few minues before the door opened again, the oddly, almost painfully familiar cry of a child drawing his attention.

He was now faced with an exhausted-looking Sam Wilson, a clearly frustated Clint Barton, an annoyed Tony Stark, and a carefully blank-faced Natasha Romanoff. All of whom The Soldier ignored entirely, searching for the source of the strange sound. 

Suddenly, Romanoff reached somewhere behind her, pulling forward a child. The world seemed to freeze. Blond hair, pale blue eyes, tiny, skinny body. He knew this child. He  _ knew  _ him. 

“Steve?” It was almost a gasp. The Soldier stared, glimpses of long-lost memories flashing before his eyes, too quickly to grasp and hold, but enough for him to recognize and place the small, frail body.

Steve stared back at him, tilting his head slightly like he always did when he was curious or intrigued. The Soldier carefully didn’t think about how he knew this.

“What happened to him?” The Soldier growled, not once taking his eyes off of Steve.

It was Barton who spoke up.

“Some alien gun thingy. Banner and Stark are trying to reverse it, but in the meantime, he refuses to eat and sleep, and he won’t let any of us get too close without freaking out.”

“He  _ bit  _ me!” Stark cut in, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a rather dark bruise. The Soldier shot Steve a satisfied smirk of approval, ignoring the glares that were being directed at him.

“Anyway, it’s been five days, and we’re desperate, so do you know any ways of getting him to eat a proper meal and sleep for more than two hours a night?”

The Soldier stared at them, incredulous. And these were the people protecting the world?

He rolled his eyes, sending an exhasperated glance toward the kid. Steve smiled slightly in response.

“He woke up in a strange place, 70 years in the future, surrounded by strange people and crazy technology. He’s probably terrified. Have you guys told him  _ anything _ ?”

“We told him the basics. Ya know, the serum and all that. He knows he’s Captain America and that he’s not supposed to be this tiny. Now, what I still don’t understand is why the hell we’re letting him anywhere near an assassin.” Stark said, glaring at him.

Stark’s arrogant and careless attitude never failed to annoy The Soldier. He wanted nothing more than to give him a personal demonstration of what his metal arm could do. 

“It’s bad enough with adult Steve, but now he’s- wait how old is he. Seven?”

“Maybe you should ask him. He can talk, ya know.” Wilson answered, looking about as annoyed as The Soldier felt.

“Nine.” The Soldier growled, eyes still fixed on Steve.

Stark froze. “What? But he’s so small!”

 

The Soldier noticed the boy bristle in anger at the words.

“Don’t talk about him like that!” He snarled, banging his fist against the glass.

Stark looked like he was about to say something, but was fortunately interrupted.

“Who are you?” Steve asked, speaking for the first time since he came in.

“What have they told you?”

“Not much. Just that you may be able to help. And that you’d be more likely to smash my head against the wall.” Steve said, aiming a glare at Stark and Barton. 

 

The Soldier hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.

“My name is James.” He mumbled, finally. The name felt strange and somehow wrong on his

tongue.

Steve’s whole face suddenly changed. A huge grin broke out on his face and his eyes seemed to light up.

“I have a friend called James! But I don’t call him James. I call him Bucky, and he’s my best friend.”

As suddenly as it had appeared, the grin disappeared, falling right off his face to be replaced by a look of horror. Tears appeared in his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. The Soldier had the sudden and confusing urge to comfort him.

“But- if I’m in the future, that means Bucky must be  _ dead!”  _ He exclaimed, his breathing becoming more and more erratic as he sobbed.

Something twisted somewhere deep in The Soldier’s chest. Like somebody had flicked a switch inside of him.

He knelt down, placing one hand against the glass that separated them. He heard the Avengers gasp, and was vaguely aware of the fact that Natasha was holding Stark back from the child, an intrigued expression on her face, but his focus remained on the crying boy.

“Steve.” He said softly, almost a whisper.

“ _ Stevie _ .” He repeated, louder this time. Steve looked up at him, tear tracks running down his cheeks and tears still clinging to his eyelashes.

“Stevie, pal. It’s me. It’s Bucky.” He said, not once tearing his gaze away from the boy.

The boy's breath stuttered and the tears stopped suddenly.

“No. That’s not possible. Bucky’s younger, smaller, and he doesn’t have a metal arm.” Steve replied, still staring intently at The Soldier.

“Well, he got bigger. Kinda like you, but a bit less extreme. You always love to make a scene. And he got injured and had to get a new arm.”

Steve stared for a minute, before slowly stepping closer to the cell, ignoring the gasps and muttering coming from the rest of the team.

 

When he was close enough to reach out and touch the glass, he stopped. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Bucky?” 

“Yeah, Punk.” The Soldier answered, trying to pretend that his voice hadn’t shook ever so slightly. 

Steve pressed his hand against the glass, where Bucky’s hand rested on the other side. 

“Bucky…” A grin slowly spread across his face.

“We both get to live in the future?” The Soldier was only mildly surprised at how quickly the boy’s mood switched from crying to grinning so wide his face looked as though it might split open.   
“Yeah, Stevie.” 

“But why are you in there?” Steve asked, his face scrunching into a look of confusion mixed with disappointment. 

The Soldier carefuly did not flinch. ‘Because I tried to kill you. Because I hurt you. Because I’ve killed so many people and I can’t even remember what their faces looked like as they breathed their final breath of air.’ Instead, he settled on “Because bad things happened. To both of us. I tried to hurt you. I’m dangerous.” 

Steve frowned. “Why are you locked up?” 

“Because I hurt you.” 

Steve’s frown deepened. “No. You protect me. You couldn’t have hurt me, not on purpose, you would never! Why is he locked up?” The last sentence was directed towards the rest of the Avengers, all staring with varying levels of shock and confusion written on their tired faces.

The Soldiers eyes became suspiciously moist. How could Steve say that? How could he possibly be so sure?

“How can you know that? How can you be certain?” He demanded harshly. 

Steve just stared at him, incredulous. “Because I know you.” 

The Soldier suddenly wanted to argue, to yell and scream and shout at the boy, to explain exactly why Steve should not trust him, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the earnestness in the boys bright blue eyes, maybe it was the firm certainty that had laced the boys voice, and maybe it was the peculiar warmth that he had experienced at the words, but he leaned closer to the glass, a clear sign that Steve should do the same. 

Steve pressed his good ear against the glass, and The Soldier spoke softly enough that he knew the others couldn’t hear him. 

“Don’t let them go anywhere near you with a needle, ya hear? And if they do, find a way to contact me. You’re smart, I know you could come up with something. Don’t trust Stark. Stick with Sam, okay? He’s the most trustworthy of them. Make sure you eat. You need to stay strong. Can’t have you gtting sick, ya hear? And you better try to sleep. You’ll be fine, they care about you, but I don’t trust them, so be careful.” 

Steve nodded, his face serious. Too serious for a child. 

“What about you?” He asked, pressing his forehead against the cool glass. 

“I’ll be down here. Don’t worry, I’m fine.” 

Looking up, The Soldier noticed Stark and Natasha staring suspiciously as Banner and the others watched, uncertain as to whether or not to intervene.

Natasha was the first to act. “Alright, Steve. Time to go back upstairs.” She said, as Stark moved to guide Steve away from the cell. Steve immediately shrugged him away, sending a questioning glance toward The Soldier, who nodded minutely. 

Steve turned and followed Sam out the door with a final glance towards his best friend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I finally have time to write! I'm not sure when I'll be able to again since school has started again and this year is supposed to be particularly stressful, but I will update when possible. Thanks for reading!

Two days later, Steve was sitting outside the cell when his metal-armed friend woke up.

“What are you doing here?” He grunted, sitting up on the mattress.

Steve shrugged. “I wanted to see you. I don’t know what to think of them, but I’m pretty sure Tony is a bully.”

The Soldier bristled angrily. What had that arrogant bastard done?

“What did he do?” He growled, metal fist clenching dangerously.

“Lots of little things. Keeps talkin’ bout how small I am. Keeps saying things in that voice adults always use when they think I’m too stupid to understand anything.” Steve shrugged again. “The others are okay, though. Sam’s my favourite. You were right.”

The Soldier grunted in response, standing and walking over so he could sit in front of the glass.  “Where are they? They would never let you come down here alone.”  Steve smiled. “They’re out. Wouldn’t let me see you. Stark kept saying you would try to kill me. The others get weird when I ask.”  The Soldier almost smiled. Almost.

“Nobody stayed with you?” He asked, worried that they might have left the boy alone.

“Jarvis is supposed to warn them if anything happens. He’s nice. He let me come down here.”

“The voice without a body is supposed to protect you?” The Soldier asked, dubious. Steve just shrugged.

“Bucky, don’t you get lonely down here all alone? You never like being alone. And you like hugging. There’s nobody to hug down here.” Steve said, concerned.

The Soldier tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion.

“I’m used to being alone.” He answered, after a moment.

Steve suddenly looked very, very sad.

“You should never be alone.” He said, looking concerned and thoughtful. 

“Wait, I’ll be right back.” He exclaimed suddenly, jumping to his feet and rushing upstairs. 

Three minutes later, the boy ran back in, a toy bear tucked under his arm.

“Here. Now you won’t be alone anymore.” He said, placing the bear in front of the glass, facing Bucky.

“It’s a Bucky bear!” Steve exclaimed proudly.

The Soldier’s lips pulled up slightly into a small smile. 

“When the others get here I’ll ask Sam to put in there with you so you can hug him if you get sad or lonely!” 

“Thanks, pal.” The Soldier answered, the smile growing on his face. 

“No problem. When are you gonna get out of there?” 

The Soldier frowned. “I don’t know. Probably never.” 

Steve stared at him, horrified.

“You can’t stay there forever! That’s not fair!” The boy yelled, outraged.

“I deserve it.” The Soldier grunted.

“No.” Steve forcefully. “If you’re staying here, so am I.” He emphasised this statement by sitting down firmly in front of the glass separating them.  
“They’ll be back, eventually. They won’t let you stay here.” The Soldier answered, a bit worried. The kid wasn’t really gonna sit on that hard, concrete floor the entire night, right? 

Steve frowned in determination. “Let them try.”  


**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for taking so long!! I reeeaally hope you like this chapter because it took me forever to finish it. I'm still not sure about it, but whatever I guess we'll see.


End file.
